The clouds were breathtaking and the sky was beautiful. I was on a plane headed to Miami when things got interesting. My mind was clear. My heart had peace. ..but my stomach?! Oh, my stomach waited until mid-flight to act a complete fool. My brain started searching for quick fixes for an upset stomach. Luckily, the stewardess was making her way down the aisle with the refreshment cart. I usually get water, but this time I went for ginger ale. You always get ginger ale to settle your stomach, right?
Ginger can absolutely help with indigestion (and even cramps). I quickly poured my drink and proceeded to sip. While I was sipping, I took a look at the ingredient list.
[Side Bar: Foods are written on the ingredient list by weight. This means the predominant (heaviest) ingredient in the product is listed first... and so on.. ]
So, I'm convinced ginger must be listed in the top three ingredients of my ginger ale... Nah. The ingredients read: Carbonated Water. High Fructose Corn Syrup. Citric Acid. Sodium Benzoate. Natural Flavors. Caramel Color.
I was drinking whole can of soda to help settle my stomach, and ginger wasn't even on the ingredient list. The closest thing to ginger was natural flavor - who really knows what that means?!
Moral of The Story..?
We have to become informed consumers. Experience has taught us we cannot believe everything people say, and that also applies to food. Please understand these food companies will sell you a dream faster than these men. All you need to do is take an extra seven seconds to glance at the ingredients. There is no reason you shouldn't be able to recognize the things going into your body.
Love,
